Book Report: Joyce Meyer, Peace

July 7, 2010 Book Report: Joyce Meyer, Peace

This was a quick read - large print, few pages. Good book to kick off my summer program. If one had time to sit down and knock it off, would take a few hours to complete. Joyce's modifications can sometimes be distracting, and I did get more out of the material when I skimmed back through to take notes for this summary.

I was optimistic this book would offer some clues on how to have peace in my life, not so much strife. The passages mentioned are comforting. Jesus offers a special peace, unlike the peace the world offers. Worldly peace = "feeling" of peace experienced when everything in your life is going your way. It flees when things are not going your way (which let's face it is most of the time). Jesus's peace = good times and bad, in the middle of a storm.

It would be wonderful if everything went your way all the time. To effect this, we can try to remove anything and everything that we don't like or doesn't "feel" good. The real key is, We need to use our FAITH, not to remove unpleasant things or people, but instead to calmly and peacefully go thru the storms and trials of life. Be prepared to deal with the trials peacefully! Because we can't always avoid or eliminate the trials. They will always be there.

John 14:27: Stop ALLOWING yourselves to be agitated and disturbed. You are doing it to yourself. Are you frustrating yourself trying to make things happen? God has a perfect timing for everthing. Believe this. Trust Him. You must wait on His timing; this brings him honor (that you trust Him and have faith) adn brings you PEACE.

Are you trying to change the people around you? People cannot change people. Only God cabn get inside a person's heart and cause him to want to change (so pray that God touches that person). If we force people from the outside to show different behavior, by maKign demands on them, it ends up stealing everyone's peace. You will not have peace if you try to get what you want the wrong way.

You cannot change YOURSELF. The Holy Spirit is bringing you into perfection or maturity. You should be resting in God, waiting on Him and His timing, trusting Him with the other people in your life and even with your own self.

Many people do not enjoy peace because they are out of the will of God. They follow their own will rather than God's will. They do what they feel like or what they think is right rather than following God's word and being led by PEACE. Be led by peace. You will be sorry if you go against the leading of the Holy Spirit. It may not make sense to you at the time. God will reveal His reasons in time. Many times Peace as Compass is all He will give you to let you know if you are "in" or "out" of his will. Later you may know why, or you may NEVER know why. But you will NEVER know a peaceful life, if you disobey His leading and follow your own will.

Satan knows me, maybe better than I know myself. Satan knows what bothers me. Satan sets me up, to get me upset. Be careful in these times not to lose your peace (patience, prudence). Avoid areas that are known to irritate. Get to peace then look there for the Holy Spirit. If you have a problem and the devil cannot drive you to be upset over it, he has no power over you. Your power is in maintaining a calm, peaceful, trusting attitude. The devil's power is in causing you to be upset and fearful. When you find yourself in a troublesome situation, let your goal be to simply stay calm. (When I recognize being upset or fearful -> devil at work.) Keep Mouth Shut if you are about to add fuel to the devil's fire. Recognize it; do not add to it. Watch for his scheme, and do not play into his hands. Be smarter than the devil. Each time you begin to feel upset or frustrated, STOP - try to recognize what the devil is trying to do. (What the devil's going on here??) If I give a place to these negative thoughts and emotions, what will the result be? Don't stay upset. In Quietness and in Confidence shall be your strength. Disquiet = Weakness. The Holy Spirit does not work in turmoil; the devil works in turmoil.

Luke 22:46: Jesus teaches to wake up and pray that I won't be tested. Do not rely on yourself or your strength to resist the devil. Pray daily that God will give you grace to resist the devil when he tries to steal your peace. Ask the Lord to strengthen you and help you. Do not try to do it by yourself! Ask for help. You can do all things through Christ, but nothing by yourself. You must have a humble attitude if you want God to help you.

In times of trial, do what God leads you to do, then take your position in Christ and watch Him work on your behalf. When you are attacked, stay in peace. This tells the devil he is defeated. He does not know what to do with you if he cannot get you upset. Showing God this attitude of peace and rest shows you are operating in real faith, and assures you of being delivered by God.

Go ahead and enjoy your life, while God works on your problems. The Bible says, God will meet our needs, so why should I worry about it? Worrying solves nothing. Ask God to take care of your problems. Ask God to show you if there is anything else he wants you to do. Pray and stay in peace (instead of pray and worry =}). Enjoy your life - God will come through in the end.

God will give you grace for today, but will not give you grace for tomorrow until tomorrow arrives. People (Cathy) worry about things that never happen. We receive God through faith; we receive the devil through fear. Do not waste today's grace to enjoy today, by worrying about tomorrow.

*No regrets. Trust God to make it work out all right. He has the capability to clean up our mistakes. Ask the Lord to let others know your heart was right even though you said the wrong thing.

Turn situations around and look at things in a more positive light. Things could ALWAYS be worse. Keep a positive perspective.

Pray to God. Make your requests known to God, and the peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. When, according to circumstance, you should be upset, yet you have peace, it is a wonderful experience. You cannot buy this kind of peace. It is yours when you accept Him as your Lord and Savior and learn to operate in His principles.

Commit your problems to His loving care. Do this as soon as the Holy Spirit makes you aware that you are worrying or that you have lost your peace. Do this at the onset, right away, at the beginning of the attack. Refuse to worry. Cast the care of the situation on God. Change your thinking pattern. Instead of one, do the other.

In order not to worry, you must not think about the problem. You cannot think about your problem if you are thinking about something else. When you do need to think about it to make decisions, you will have to think positively about it and not negatively. You can be realistic about your problem and not be negative.

Do Not Worry - Just Pray. If there is anything worthy of praise, think about that. Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit. Grace can help put these principles into practice in my life so I might enjoy the blessedness of a peaceful life.